Another "will this stupid idea work?" thread

Ok, I have my flame suit on. I am a newb to Hondas, but not to turning a wrench. I've been reading up as much as I can in the last few days trying to educate myself but I am going to ask this question anyways due to time constraints.

My ol lady has a '92 Integra with a spun rod and 3 other b18a1's that have some sort of issue. I have been having the worst luck trying to find a good shortblock for less than the price of my first born child. I did find a C1 longblock for a reasonable price that needs some work because it got wet, however that is easy money kinda stuff to deal with. What kind of drama, or is it even worth it to use that shortblock and mate it up with an a1 head? It needs to stay legit looking for the smog Nazis and I can handle most issues that will arise with the proper guidance.

Hey there- welcome to the site. Thanks for admitting what your knowledge level is and not going off on people- that means a lot from a n00b.

What state do you live in, and if it's not California- what do your emissions laws look like? If you're in CA, you can't swap heads on anything and have it pass smog.

You can technically put a non-VTEC B head onto a VTEC block without any problems (just read through LS/VTEC instructions and reverse things where appropriate) if you really need to, but it might still be easier to find another A or B block to drop into your car.

I live in California. I have been pulling teeth trying to find an A or B block that is a runner as is but they seem to elude me. I seem to find the ones that dont have bores that are true and require rebuilding. I would assume that the open deck and aluminum cylinder walls are great candidates for core shift. The two supposed good motors I have both still have visible cross hatching still on the walls but the mic states they are not true. If I put a motor in I want it to stay in there till I take it out in a million years. I like the idea of having a sleeved block just so the cylinders will have a better chance of staying true. I have been hunting for a good a or b block but the ones I find usually come from a kid and more than likely were abused. At this point I realize I am almost better off rebuilding one of the motors I have but its going to be about $700 for the kit and machine work.

i know how to rebuild engines, however I dont want to pay $700+ to go through my shortblock. I also do not trust junkyards to sell me a good motor. their definition of a good motor is why I have 3 junk motors now.(not all junkyards are filled withdummys but so far have had bad luck.

i know how to rebuild engines, however I dont want to pay $700+ to go through my shortblock. I also do not trust junkyards to sell me a good motor. their definition of a good motor is why I have 3 junk motors now.(not all junkyards are filled withdummys but so far have had bad luck.

I also like the idea of greater longevity of a sleeved motor.

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well with a sleeved block your looking at 700-1k.

well im building a high comp LS and sof ar im gonna spend under 600 and thats with arp rod bolts and arp main studs.

Does it have a spun/damaged rod or just the bearing? If the block itself is in decent shape I would say pull it apart and replace the damaged goods. You could even drop in some B16 pistons while you're in there to boost the compression(They fit on the LS rods with no modification).

before doing engine mods like these being talked about, why not rebuild yours? i seen someone already suggested it and i agree. your crank should be reusable after machining. if not the macine shop has hookups for good cores to be used in your rebuild. this should cost about 1200 bucks. at least thats what my machine shop charges and you can get it cheaper if you assemble the block yourself. the machine shop i use chareges 125 bucks to assemble an engine and thats cheaper for me than my time doing it myself. good luck and feel free to hit me up for advise if you want

Why would I want to pay $1200 for machining plus whatever when I can buy an assembled reman from Attorko for $950 with a warranty. Eh, its a mess any way I slice it. I cant seem to score the good "cheap" low miles motors to save my life... might just throw rings and a good used head at the motor that had a burned valve. It is about .005 out and the book says .007 is the max. That prob. will get me by for a good 100K before the rings start wheezing or something else lets loose.

1200 pretty much gets it all. machining, parts, and engine block assembly. all you do is pull the engine out and put it back in and add fluids. if the engine block is unreusable its like 50 bucks for a good core. the only used parts you get is the machined crank, block, head and head parts if they were still good. and actually 1200 is what i would charge a customer because i have the valve guides replaced for an aditional 100 bucks. it probably actually costs around 950 with all the regular gaskets and belts. i have the macine shop use dealer head gaskets, timing belts, and i up grade to high volume oil pumps and one peice pan gasets, so you take off the 100 bucks plus the cost of the dealer parts and the other up graded parts and what you pay is about the same. but you have the same block and its all fancy. any color you want. now finding a good machine shop is a different one but since i use the same shop i've gotten lots of free help from them. they did my integra 1.8 non vtec for 500 bucks. i just paid for the parts and we've gotten a few valve jobs for under 100 bucks. get friends together and patronize your local machine shop and you and your friends will have the hook up on machining.